Journal of Education and Human Development

June 2014, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 1017-1035

ISSN: 2334-296X (Print), 2334-2978 (Online)
Copyright © The Author(s). 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development

Writing Needs and Strategies of FELDA Primary ESL Pupils

Dr. Melor Md. Yunus1 & Siti Sukainah Che Mat2

Abstract

Two of the challenges faced by teachers in the primary schools in Malaysia are to
improve the English proficiency level and to prepare pupils for the upcoming
School Certificate Examination (UPSR). Pupils have been taught certain ways to
answer the questions but all efforts prove to no avail as reports came out suggest
that pupils’ compositions for Paper 2 are weak and they have yet to master the
writing skills. The fact that pupils failed to produce a short paragraph of intelligible
writing comes by no surprise as pupils are often being spoon-fed with the
information they hardly digest on their own. This study investigates the needs and
writing strategies among primary FELDA ESL pupils, where the data collected
serves as a guide for the development of an English learning module. Sixty two
respondents, of eleven and twelve years old took part in this study. Data was
collected via a survey and was analyzed statistically. Findings suggest that pupils are
interested to learn English, aware of the importance of English and use various
writing strategies. The use of writing strategies differ between boys and girls and
when an independent sample t-test was run, there is a significant variance between
the selection of writing strategies used by girls and boys. In terms of the preferences
for an English learning module, pupils preferred the learning module to be in the
medium of book, Malay as the language of instruction and writing as the main skill
taught.

Keywords: writing, needs, strategies, primary, FELDA, ESL pupils

1. Introduction

The Malaysia Ministry of Education (MOE) in its efforts to improve the

Malaysian Education Curriculum came up with the “Malaysia Education Blueprint
2013-2025” (MOE, 2012).
1Associate Professor Dr., Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. 43600 Bangi,
Selangor, Malaysia
2 Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia. Phone

+601117706747, E-mail: cmsukainah@gmail.com

1018 Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 3(2), June 2014

The Blueprint reaffirms the implementation of the New Standard Curriculum

in the primary and secondary schools in 2011 which sees additional time allotted for
English subject (Darus and Subramaniam, 2009).

Pupils in the Primary Year 5 and Year 6 of 2014 are the last two batches of
pupils who are learning English as a second language (ESL) under the old curriculum,
and also the last two batches that are going to sit for the School Certificate
Examination (UPSR) by the end of Year 6. Among the candidates, English has been
one of the killer subjects. The 2004 School Certificate Examination Report on English
Language 2 (MOE, 2005) revealed that majority of the candidates have yet to master
the writing skills in English. Astudy conducted by Sia and Chuah (2004) as cited in
Samuel and Bakar (2006), reported that pupils’ writing skills at the UPSR level in
guided composition in vernacular schools are far from satisfactory. This poor
performance is primarily due to limited exposure, usage and negative feelings towards
English.

Meanwhile, a newspaper report on the achievement of UPSR candidates for

English subject in 2011 reveals a slight decline in the number of “A” achieved
compared to previous years (Metro, 2011). The short time allotted for English subject
under the old curriculum (210 minutes) is argued as one of the factors to low level of
competency among Malaysian pupils (Fatt, 2007; Manickam, 2004). Tabitha D. Lim
(2013) in her study questioned the eleven years of students studying English in school,
yet Nooreiny et al. (2003) and Talif and Edwin (1990) discovered that the level of
English proficiency in rural schools is much lower than the level in the urban schools
although students went through the same curriculum. In the 2012 UPSR, candidates
who scored the highest number of all “A” are all coming from the top three urban
primary schools which are SK Setiawangsa (97 pupils), SK Bukit Damansara (93
pupils) and SK Taman Tun Dr Ismail 1 (89 pupils) (Sinar Harian, 2012). There were
only a small number of pupils from FELDA primary schools made into the headlines.

FELDA ESL primary pupils are rural pupils who are often struggling in
English subject. FELDA which stands for the Federal Land Development Authority
was meant to be an organized, modern agricultural society (Nik A. Hisham et al.,
2010). However, the fall in the price of FELDA products in addition to inflation and
world economic downturn, FELDA settlers ended up being in poverty. It has major
impact on the lives of FELDA’s children. As parents focusing on making an end meet
by taking more jobs, children’s welfares are often being neglected.
Yunus & Mat 1019

As claimed by Mustapha (1998), a great number of Malaysian students are

actually passive learners. They rely heavily on rote learning which is promoted under
the old curriculum. Students in FELDA schools have been experiencing the same
kind of learning practice. With the lack of facilities and unsupportive environment in
the rural area, pupils are becoming increasingly dependent on their teachers. Language
learning strategies (LLS) has been one of the options to overcome this situation. A
study by O’ Malley and Chamot (1990) suggests that effective language learners are
aware of the strategies they use and why they use them but there is a need for a
language learning module to guide pupils on these strategies.

At the moment, there is no available and reliable module for LLS developed
to support the specific needs of FELDA primary school pupils. Besides, there is an
absence study on LLS used by primary school pupils in Malaysia especially in FELDA
area. Therefore, this study aims to fill the gaps by looking into the primary objectives
as listed below:

1.to identify whether FELDA primary school pupils are interested to learn English,
2.to investigate whether FELDA school pupils are aware of the importance of
English,
2.to find out the needs of FELDA primary school pupils in terms of the language,
medium and skills preferred for the development of an English learning module
4.to discover the writing strategies used by FELDA primary school pupils in general
5. to identify the writing strategies used by FELDA primary school pupils based on
gender

2. Literature Review

Countless researches have been carried out on the attitude and motivation
towards learning English as a second language. Such studies found that students in
rural areas generally like and are interested to learn English (Siti Sukainah and Melor,
2014; Melor and Nur Rashidah, 2011). Several studies on the realization of the
importance of English among learners were also carried out and findings suggest that
students are well aware of the importance of English (Thang et al., 2011) but they
tend to labor minimal efforts into improving their English proficiency (Siti Sukainah
and Melor, 2014, Melor and Nur Rashidah, 2011).
1020 Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 3(2), June 2014

The awareness of the importance of mastering English for future benefits

(Liu, 2007) has produced a large number of studies which identify Malaysians students
as being extrinsically motivated to learn English (Siti Sukainah and Melor, 2014; Ainol
Madziah and Isarji, 2009; Samsiah et al., 2009).

The acquisitions of English as a second language in Malaysian context is

progressing at a snail speed despite numerous efforts have been put in promoting the
use of English. Literacy skills are essential for the development of the second
language learning among students. A study carried out by Jenkins, Stein and Anderson
(1985) as cited in Agustin (2010) revealed that English vocabulary is learned
receptively through reading or listening and it is often produced in the form of
writing. Numerous studies on the effects of reading on writing also highlight the
relevance of reading in the development of writing skills (Agustin, 2007) and that
extensive and pleasure reading has a relevant impact on second language writing
abilities (Krashen, 1993). Kuppusamy (1998) agrees with Krashen as his research into
writing has shown that reading and writing proficiency can improve the writing
proficiency.

Despite these findings, literacy statistic in Malaysia shows that only 3% of

Malaysian readers read books (The Star, 2009) and almost 50% of children ages 10-14
years old are not interested in reading (Najeemah, 2010). Poor reading habits would
result in anxiety and fear towards learning English as discovered by Rahil et al. (1994)
in their study where Malay students tend to be more anxious to learn English
compared to other races (Indian, Chinese and others). As a result, the teaching of
English has to be done in mother tongue. Krashen (2004) proposed that many skills
acquired in the first language can be transferred to the second language.

Akinbote (2001) and Ogunsanwo (2003) in particular supported the use of

first language in learning English, as it helps to develop the lexical aspect of the
second language.

Teaching ESL learners to acquire writing skills is by no means easy (Fatt,

2007). The number of LLS used is what differentiates a more successful language
learner apart from a less successful language learner (Mohamed Amin, 2000). LLS
expert such as Mohamed Amin (2000) has defined LLS as attempt or plans to acquire
a second language knowledge.
Yunus & Mat 1021

One of the strategies that is often employed by unskilled ESL learners is

writing a draft for the composition (Raimes, 1985) as weaker learners tend to pay
more attention on the organization of the ideas and spelling.

LLS can be divided into Meta-cognitive, Cognitive and Social/Affective

Strategies as (O’Malley and Chamot, 1990). Meta-cognitive strategies are defined as
strategies that involve thinking about the process of learning through self evaluation
(O’Malley and Chamot, 1990). Cognitive strategies, on the other hand, are strategies
that reflect “mental manipulation of tasks” whereas social/affective strategies involve
“mental control over personal effects that interferes with learning” (O’Malley and
Chamot, p.4). Studies have found that gender plays a role in the learner’s choice of
LLS (Oxford and Nyikos, 1989), and males and females used different LLS (Green
and Oxford, 1995). The success of learners in learning a second language, is also
influenced by the cultural expectations and their behaviour in school (Eliot, 2012).
Studies on LLS among Malaysian students revealed that students employed various
LLS (Rajamoney, 2008) and a study carried out by Norhiza and Nurul Liyana (2010)
found that the most frequently used LLS are those of metacognitive strategies
followed by cognitive, social and compensation strategies.

As for the development of a language learning module, Oxford (1990) claimed

that a good learning-to-learn module should take into consideration the affective
domains of the students. According to Mackay and Mountford (1978), the first step in
designing and planning of a course is to identify the needs of the learners. In an
attempt to develop a learning module for the students, such information is essential as
it helps in identifying learners’ specific needs Therefore, a need analysis serves as an
important point for planning a language module (Kuppusamy 1998).

3. Methodology

Instrument adapted from Cohen, Oxford and Chi’s (2005) “Language Strategy
Use Inventory” was developed for this study and was named as “Writing Strategy Use
Survey” (WSUS). Only the writing skill from the inventory was included and many
items in the WSUS have been adapted from the literature on LLS. Because of these
many changes, the researcher believes that the instrument deserves to have its own
name. The learners would report their use of writing strategies by choosing the
suitable category. The categories are:
1022 Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 3(2), June 2014

1= I often use this strategy

2= I seldom use this strategy
3= I have never use this strategy but I am interested

A simple need analysis questions accompanied the WSUS to reveal the

students’ interestin English, opinion on the importance of English, and their
preferences for the module. Data collected from the surveys was analyzed statistically
and an independent sample t-test was run. A pilot study was carried out to measure
the reliability of the instrument. Cronbach’s Alpha for 27 items in the WSUS shows a
value of .734 which suggests that the items are reliable to be used with the samples.

The sample chosen were from upper primary pupils (Year 5 and Year 6, ages
11 and 12 year old). The selection of 62 pupils (59 Malays and 3 Indians) is made
based on purposive sampling. They had just completed their first monthly test.
Hence, they are in the best position to comment on their needs of writing skills.
Thirty (30) boys and thirty two (32) girls were briefed on the questions in the
computer laboratory and they spent an hour answering the survey questions.

4. Findings and Discussion

4.1 FELDA Primary Pupils’ General Interest towards English and Activities Related
to English

This section presents pupils’ general interest towards English and activities
that are related to English.
Table 4.1.1 shows that 52% of the respondents were interested to learn
English, 44% of the respondents were less interested and 5% of the respondents were
not interested to learn English at all.

Table 4.1.1 Students’ Interest to learn English

Item Response Frequency Percentage

Q5 Are you interested to learn Interested 32 51.6
English at school? Less interested 27 43.5
Not interested 3 4.8
Total 62 100
Yunus & Mat 1023

Based on the table above, it is found that most of the FELDA pupils are
interested to learn English which is consistent with findings of Siti Sukainah and
Melor (2014), Melor and Nur Rashidah (2011) despite being in the rural area. Pupils’
interests towards English are also measured through activities related to English.
Table 4.1.2 reveals that less than half respondents were interested to read English
books (42%), only 23% interested to attend English course/camp and 26% of the
pupils interested to take part in English competition.

Table 4.1.2 Pupils’ Interest in Activities Related to English

Item Response Frequency Percentage

Q13 Are you read English books Yes 26 41.9
interested to No 36 58.1
attend English courses/camp Yes 14 22.6
No 48 77.4
take part in English competition Yes 17 27.4
No 45 72.6

Findings from the past few years have shown that students in general are
lacking in efforts to improve their English proficiency (Siti Sukainah and Melor, 2014,
Melor and Nur Rashidah, 2011) Finding in this study also yield similar result as
FELDA primary school pupils show less interest to read English books and involve
in English activities.

This finding also supports Najeemah’s (2010) claim that almost 50% of
children ages 10-14 years old are not interested in reading. Minimal efforts among
rural school pupils as suggested by Noraini (1999) would explain the higher failure
rate among pupils in the rural schools.

4.2 The Importance of English as Perceived by FELDA Primary School Pupils

Table 4.2.1 presents the findings on the importance of being proficient in the
language as viewed by the pupils. From the table, it can be seen that majority of the
respondents (79%) agreed that English proficiency is important for them while a few
other pupils (21%) stated that it is not important.
1024 Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 3(2), June 2014

Table 4.2.1 The Importance of English to the Pupils

Item Frequency Percentage

Q8 Being proficient in Extremely important 24 38.7
English is_______ to me. Important 25 40.3
Not very important 12 19.4
Not important at all 1 1.6

From the table, it is clearly seen that FELDA primary pupils are aware of the
importance of English. This finding is also similar with the findings of Ainol Madziah
& Isarji, 2009; Samsiah, Kamaruzaman, Nurazila, Musdiana & Taniza, 2009) as
students are aware of the importance of English for future benefits.

FELDA pupils were also asked to determine if writing skill is important. Table
4.2.2 shows that 90% of the respondents agreed that learning to write in English is
important for the current use while 95% of the respondents agreed that it is also
important for future use.

Table 4.2.2 Pupils’ Opinion on the Importance of Writing Skills for

Current and Future Use

Item Response Frequency Percentage

Q12 In your opinion, Important for Yes 56 90.3
does learning to write current use No 6 9.7
in English important Important for Yes 59 95.2
for current and future future use No 3 4.8
use?

Table 4.2.3 explains the possible reasons why writing skill is important. From
the table, 53% of the respondents agreed that writing skill is important to succeed in
the subject, followed by 38% of respondents who agreed that it is important for the
sake of passing the examinations. Only 8% of the respondents stated that English
writing skill is important for everyday usage.
Yunus & Mat 1025

Table 4.2.3 Pupils’ Perception of the Importance of Writing Skill

Item Frequency Percentage

Q11 English writing skill is succeed in the subject 33 53.2
important to __________. pass the examinations 24 38.7
for everyday use 5 8.1
Total 62 100

Pupils’ responses reveal that they are extrinsically motivated as they want to
succeed in the subject and pass the examination. This finding supports the findings of
other researchers that students are generally extrinsically motivated than intrinsically
motivated when it comes to learning a second language (Siti Sukainah and Melor,
2014; Ainol Madziah and Isarji, 2009; Samsiah et al., 2009)

4.3 The needs of the FELDA primary school pupils (language, medium, and skills) for
the development of an English learning module

This section presents the findings on the medium, language and skills
preferred by the FELDA primary school pupils for the development of an English
learning module. They were asked to determine the language, medium and skills they
wish to learn if an English learning module is to be developed for them. In terms of
language, Table 4.3.1 reveals that most of the pupils wish the module to be in their
mother tongue (60%), while only 40% of the pupils preferred it to be in the target
language.

Table 4.3.1 Language Preferred for the Module

Item Frequency Percentage

Q10a What is the language Malay 37 59.7
preferred for the module? English 25 40.3
Total 62 100

The finding shows that FELDA primary school pupils are more confident to
learn English in their mother tongue. As supported by Akinbote (2001) and
Ogunsanwo (2003), the use of mother tongue in the process of teaching and learning
1026 Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 3(2), June 2014

in the early years helps, and research also shows that many skills acquired in the first
language can be transferred to the second language (Krashen, 2004).
Pupils’ choice of their mother tongue suggests that they are anxious to learn
English as supported by Rahil et al. (1994) that the Malay students are more anxious
to learn English compared to other races.

FELDA primary pupils were also asked to determine the medium for the
English learning module. Table 4.3.2 shows that pupils favored book (65%) over
courseware (15%) and internet version (21%).

Table 4.3.2 Medium Preferred for the Module

Item Frequency Percentage

Q10b What is the medium Book 40 64.5
preferred for the module? Courseware 9 14.5
Internet (online) 13 21.0
Total 62 100

Printed books have many advantages for these pupils. Research shows that
children’s recall levels are significantly higher with printed books than other materials.
Dillon (1992) in his review claimed that it happens because books possess an intimacy
of interaction that can never be obtained in other medium.

Besides that, technology is a luxury in this area as a result of poverty (Nik A.

Hisham et al., 2010) and because of this, not many FELDA primary school pupils are
computer literate. The selection of book seems to be the only choice for most of the
FELDA primary pupils.

For the development of English module, pupils were asked to choose the
skills they preferred. Six items were presented to them and Table 4.3.3 reveals only
four major skills selected by the pupils. Most of the pupils chose writing skill (52%),
followed by vocabulary (21%), grammar (14%) and reading (13%).
Yunus & Mat 1027

Table 4.3.3 Skills Preferred for the Module

Item Frequency Percentage

Q10c What is the skill most Writing 32 51.6
preferred for the module? Reading 8 12.9
Vocabulary 13 21.0
Grammar 9 14.5
Total 62 100

FELDA primary pupils’ selection of writing skill reflects their awareness of

the importance of writing skill for the examination. It also implies that writing is the
most difficult task to deal with. Kupusamy (1998) in his study also found that
respondents chose writing skill as the top skill that needed to be mastered. Pupils’
preference towards writing skill is also evident in Mohd Zaki’s (2011) study and it may
suggest the importance for them to master this skill.

4.4 Writing strategies used by FELDA primary school pupils

This section presents the language learning strategies used by the pupils in the
primary school. The findings of this section are divided into three subsections. In
each subsection, only ten items were selected for the comparison purpose.

4.4.1Writing strategies used by FELDA primary school pupils in general

Table 4.4.1 presents the LLS used in general among boys and girls.

From the table, it could be seen that “Write a draft” (M= 2.3, SD=.68) is a
strategy employed by most of the pupils in the primary school. This is followed by the
“Use of different structure of writing”(M=2.3, SD=.72), “Plan different styles of
Writing” (M=2.2, SD=.72), “Improve on writing after getting feedbacks from the
teacher”( M=2.2, SD=.72), “Write letter/email to others in English”( M=2.2,
SD=.82), “Brainstorm ideas about what to write” (M=2.2, SD=.71), “Find a different
way to express an idea when I don’t know the correct word” (M=2.2, SD=.75),
“Write a rough outline” (M=2.1, SD=.89), “Make use of a model essay as a reference
while writing”(M=2.1, SD=.84), and “Use main idea and expand the sentence by
adding supporting details to improve the writing” (M=2.1, SD=.77).
1028 Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 3(2), June 2014

Table 4.4.1 Writing Strategies Mostly Used by Pupils in FELDA

Primary School in General

No Item Category Mean Sd.

C8 Write a draft Cognitive 2.3 .68
C2 Use different structure of writing Cognitive 2.3 .72
M9 Plan different styles of writing Meta-cognitive 2.2 .72
(descriptive, narrative etc.)
M4 Improve on writing after getting Meta-cognitive 2.2 .76
feedbacks from the teacher
S7 Write letter/email to others in English Social 2.2 .82
M7 Brainstorm ideas about what to write Meta-cognitive 2.2 .71
C5 Find a different way to express an idea Cognitive 2.2 .75
when I don’t know the correct word
M8 Write a rough outline Meta-cognitive 2.1 .89
S4 Make use of a model essay as a Social 2.1 .84
reference while writing
C3 Use main idea and expand the sentence Cognitive 2.1 .77
by adding supporting details to improve
the writing

Table 4.4.1 revealed that in general, FELDA primary school pupils use various
LLS strategies for the writing skill. The similar finding was also found in Shirley’s
(2008) study among the secondary school students. It is observed that FELDA
primary school pupils used both Cognitive strategies (4 items) and Meta-cognitive
strategies (4 items) more often compare to Social strategies (2 items). This finding is
consistent with the findings of Norhiza and Nurul Liyana (2010) who also found that
the most frequently used LLS are those of meta-cognitive strategies followed by
cognitive, and social strategies.

Writing a draft is a strategy mostly used in general for English Language 2 as

the paper measures pupils’ ability to construct simple and compound language and
assess their understanding of English Language (MOE, 208).

Draft writing is a strategy mostly employed by unskilled ESL learners as

proposed by Raimes (1985). Writing a draft does not only help to record the idea, but
it helps FELDA primary school pupils to create and form ideas too. Pupils in the
FELDA primary school also utilize different structure of writing as emphasize in the
English UPSR papers (MOE, 2008).
Yunus & Mat 1029

4.4.2 Writing strategies mostly used by FELDA primary boys

Table 4.4.2 presents the findings on LLS used mostly by boys. From the table,
it could be seen that boys mostly use LLS such as “Write letter/email to others in
English” (M=2.7, SD=.73), “Improve on writing after getting feedbacks from the
teacher” (M=2.4, SD=.77), “Find a different way to express an idea when I don’t
know the correct word” (M=2.4, SD=.72), “Try writing different kinds of text in
English (SMS, chatting, diary)” (M=2.3, SD=.76), “Write a draft” (M=2.3, SD=.66),
“Brainstorm ideas about what to write” (M=2.3, SD=.70), “Plan different style of
writing (descriptive, narrative etc.)” (M=2.2, SD=.86)), “Use different structure of
writing” (M=2.2, SD=.78), “Write a rough outline” (M=2.2, SD=.86), and “Make use
of a model essay as a reference while writing” (M=2.2, SD=.85).

Table 4.4.2 Writing Strategies Mostly Used by FELDA Primary Boys

No Item Category Mean Sd.

S7 Write letter/email to others in English Social 2.7 .73
M4 Improve on writing after getting Metacognitive 2.4 .77
feedbacks from the teacher
C5 Find a different way to express an idea Cognitive 2.4 .72
when I don’t know the correct word
S3 Try writing different kinds of text in Social 2.3 .76
English (SMS, chatting, diary)
C8 Write a draft Cognitive 2.3 .66
M7 Brainstorm ideas about what to write Metacognitive 2.3 .70
M9 Plan different style of writing Metacognitie 2.2 .86
(descriptive, narrative etc.)
C2 Use different structure of writing Cognitive 2.2 .78
M8 Write a rough outline Metacognitive 2.2 .86
S4 Make use of a model essay as a Social 2.2 .85
reference while writing

From the table, it is observed that boys used most of the Meta-cognitive
strategies (4 items), followed by Cognitive strategies (3 items) and Social strategies (3
items). This finding once again confirms the findings of Norhiza and Nurul Liyana
(2010) who also found that the most frequently used LLS are those of meta-cognitive
strategies followed by cognitive and social strategies.
1030 Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 3(2), June 2014

It is revealed that FELDA primary school boys often write a letter or email to
their friends in English to enhance their self-esteem. They also take teachers’
feedbacks on their writing seriously and use them to improve their writing while in
the class. As proposed by Eliot (2010), cultural expectations shape and encourage
certain behaviors in boys such as competition and taking chances. Competition
against the pupils in the same class would explain why FELDA primary boys are
challenged and motivated to perform better.

4.4.3 Writing strategies mostly used by FELDA primary girls

Table 4.4.3 presents the findings on LLS used mostly by girls. It could be
observed that girls favor the “Use different structure of writing” (M=2.3, SD=.65)
realizing that it is the most needed skill in their UPSR paper. This is followed by LLS
such as “Write a draft” (M=2.3, SD=.70), “Plan different style of writing (descriptive,
narrative etc.)” (M=2.2, SD=.56), “Brainstorm ideas about what to write” (M=2.1,
SD=.72), “Use main idea and expand the sentence by adding supporting details to
improve the writing” (M=2.1, SD=.75), “I ask myself if the writing is good” (M=2.1,
SD=.65), “Improve on writing after getting feedbacks from the teacher” (M=2.1,
SD=.75), “Make use of a model essay as a reference while writing” (M=2.0, SD=.84),
“Find a different way to express an idea when I don’t know the correct word”
(M=2.0, SD=.75) and “Write a rough outline” (M=2.0, SD=.91).

Table 4.4.3 Writing Strategies Mostly used by FELDA Primary Girls

No Item Category Mean Sd.
C2 Use different structure of writing Cognitive 2.3 .65
C8 Write a draft Cognitive 2.3 .70
M9 Plan different style of writing Metacognitie 2.2 .56
(descriptive, narrative etc.)
M Brainstorm ideas about what to write Metacognitive 2.1 .72
C3 Use main idea and expand the sentence Cognitive 2.1 .75
by adding supporting details to improve
the writing
M3 I ask myself if the writing is good Metacognitive 2.1 .65
M4 Improve on writing after getting Metacognitive 2.1 .75
feedbacks from the teacher
S4 Make use of a model essay as a reference Social 2.0 .84
while writing
C5 Find a different way to express an idea Cognitive 2.0 .75
when I don’t know the correct word
M8 Write a rough outline Metacognitive 2.0 .91
Yunus & Mat 1031

Based on the table above, it is also observed that girls used more Meta-
cognitive strategies (5 items) compare to Cognitive strategies (4 items) and Social
strategies (1 item). Both findings are contradict to the findings of Aslant (2009) where
in his study it was found that females used more cognitive strategies than males. Girls’
behavior as according Weeks (2013) helps explain why they do better in school.

4.5 Significant differences between the strategies used by FELDA primary boys and
girls

Previous findings reveal that boys and girls use different language learning
strategies when it comes to writing tasks. An independent sample t-test was employed
in this study to determine whether gender influence the writing strategies used by
boys and girls.

Table 4.5 Independent Sample T-Test for Writing Strategies between

Boys and Girl

Scale Gender N Mean Std. Dev t-Value Sig.

Total writing Boys 30 57.06 7.51 2.670 .010
strategies Girls 32 52.28 6.59

An independent-sample t-test was conducted to compare the writing strategies

scores for FELDA primary boys and girls. Based on the Table 4.5, there was a
significant difference in the scores of writing strategies for boys (M=57.06, SD= 7.51)
and girls (M= 52.28, SD=6.59); (t= 2.6, p=.010). The magnitude of the differences in
the means was large (eta squared= 0.1061) which suggest that 10 per cent of the
variance in writing strategies used among FELDA primary school pupils is explained
by gender.

Research on LLS has pointed to a significant association at a general level

between learners’ gender and their choice of LLS. A study carried out by Oxford and
Nyikos (1989) in the United States found that gender plays a major role on the usage
of LLS among students. Similarly, a study by Green and Oxford (1995) in University
of Puerto Rico found that male and female students use different LLS, with females
used more cognitive strategy, meta-cognitive strategy and social strategy compare to
males.
1032 Journal of Education and Human Development, Vol. 3(2), June 2014

Therefore, the significant difference in the writing strategies used among the
FELDA primary school pupils’ suggest that gender plays a role in the LLS used
among learners.

5. Implications and Recommendations

Researchers propose that the most successful language learners tend to use
learning strategies that are appropriate to the nature of the task, needs, motivation and
stage of learning. However, if learners do not understand what they are doing at the
moment, it would be difficult to improve on the process that they are engaged.
Learners as young as the FELDA primary school pupils need to go through meta-
cognitive thinking process in order to improve their cognitive performances.

Writing for many is the most difficult tasks which require a lot of practices.
Successful writers are often said to be regular readers. Therefore, school activities that
inculcate reading habits at such an early age should be running continuously in action
as reading proficiency improves writing proficiency. In terms of writing strategies
used by the pupils in the FELDA primary school, FELDA primary pupils should be
made aware of the various strategies they could employ for different writing tasks. It
is in the hands of the teachers to explicitly teach these skills to the pupils so that they
could become independent learners and could decide which strategies are best for
themselves and the tasks they need to deal with.

As for future study, researchers should consider looking into other language
learning strategies used by the primary school pupils such as reading, listening,
speaking, vocabulary and grammar. Researchers might also want to consider testing
other factors that could explain the variance in the writing strategies used among boys
and girls such as motivation and attitude. Findings and discussions presented in this
study are rather suggestive than conclusive as the sample size used in this study is
small. Therefore findings do not represent all language learners. Researchers should
also consider having a large sample of study so as the study produces results from
different perspectives.
Yunus & Mat 1033

6. Conclusion

This study examined the writing needs and strategies used by the primary
FELDA ESL learners. The data suggested that pupils in the FELDA primary school,
despite being young learners are well aware of the writing strategies they used in the
writing tasks, especially during the examinations. They used various writing strategies
and the selections of writing strategy used differ between boys and girls.

Having made aware of the various writing strategies that they could choose
from, it is hoped that pupils in the FELDA primary school would utilize them to
maximize their potentials and improve their writing skill. Besides, the information
collected from the need analysis survey is essential in the planning and developing
processes of the English learning module so that it would be tailored to their
requirements.

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